An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system includes various business-related enterprise services. The ERP system provides an organization-wide information handling infrastructure to control the business processes of a company. The ERP system and the enterprise services that it includes may be extremely complex and the company may depend on their correct operation.
Many employees of the company may use the enterprise services of the ERP system through a variety of client devices. For example, an accountant may access the ERP system on a desktop computer to update financial records of the company. The chief executive officer (CEO), on the other hand, may use a laptop computer to obtain a strategic overview of company performance from the ERP system. In turn, a delivery driver may access the ERP system using a personal digital assistant (PDA) to determine a delivery schedule. Each also might use the ERP system to inquire about the status of their employee benefits from home, for example, using a phone. In sum many employees may access the ERP system, and each may do so in a variety of contexts.
Employees of the company may have difficulty using the ERP system because of the system's complexity and the many contexts in which it may be used. Even when employees develop expertise in the ERP system, they may find that the system is ill-adapted to the particular context of their use.